A/HRC/46/44 contamination, and had accounted for the large numbers of contaminations and deaths in the current pandemic.14 OHCHR, together with Minority Rights Group International, held a webinar on 24 June 2020 on COVID-19 and the human rights of minorities. The conclusions included the need to implement strategies focused on securing the effective participation of minorities, as a key ingredient of equality, for achievement of the central principle of the Sustainable Development Goals of leaving no one behind. On 19 June, following the aforementioned “urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality against people of African descent and violence against peaceful protests”, the Human Rights Council adopted its resolution 43/1. In the resolution, the Council requested the High Commissioner, “with the assistance of relevant special procedure mandate holders, to prepare a report on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims” and “to examine government responses to anti-racism peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists”. The report will be presented to the Council at its forty-seventh session. Following the adoption of Human Rights Council resolution 43/1, OHCHR established a dedicated team to work towards its implementation. On 1 October, the High Commissioner presented her first oral update to the Council, at its forty-fifth session, as requested in the resolution.15 In July, OHCHR participated in a webinar organized by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, entitled “Impact of COVID-19 on Dalits in India: voices from the ground”. OHCHR reiterated the usefulness of the guidance tool on descent-based discrimination, entitled Key Challenges and Strategic Approaches to Combat Caste-based and Analogous Forms of Discrimination, in combating this form of discrimination. In September, OHCHR participated in a webinar on the human rights situation of Dalits in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to reflect on the challenges connected with ensuring a functioning judiciary in countries heavily affected by the pandemic. On 12 October, OHCHR held, together with the International Dalit Solidarity Network, a webinar on examples of language and expressions that reinforce stigma and discrimination and on the need to protect those who are often at the front line of abuse, particularly in the context of COVID-19. The OHCHR office in Tunisia, in partnership with Minority Rights Group International, conducted training for 122 lawyers, including 79 women, to assist them in providing legal assistance to victims of racial discrimination. In October, one of the lawyers who had taken part in the training obtained the first, historic judgment to allow removal of the part of a client’s surname that marked him as being descended from a family of emancipated slaves. Throughout the year, the human rights service of UNAMA engaged in discussions with Afghan Islamic law scholars and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission about national legislation, international human rights standards and the interpretation of Islamic law in several areas, including minority rights and nondiscrimination, victim-centred justice, and women’s rights, as well as criminal law and human rights standards. The OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia has been providing technical support and capacity-building for the Coalition for Equality, a civil society coalition in Kyrgyzstan, which is advocating for the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation in the country. In January, the Regional Office facilitated exchanges of experiences with experts from equality bodies and civil society in Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. In 14 15 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Racism/COVID-19_and_Racial_Discrimination.pdf. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26326&LangID=E. 5